The most helpful favorable review

The most helpful critical review

76 of 93 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 starsThis game is a Zelda masterpiece that is most definitely worth experiencing (even without the bonus music CD)
The Legend of Zelda series is one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, if not arguably *thee* greatest. With each release, Nintendo has showed us the magic of journeying through Hyrule's beautiful kingdom. Now, they have done it again, greatly injecting innovation into the tried-and-true formula of past titles. This is a Zelda game unlike any other, and...

3.0 out of 5 starsof course it's great game, if you can appreciate it through all the padding
I thoroughly enjoy this game. The puzzles are just challenging enough to be rewarding, but not so much as to disrupt the fun factor. The characters are beautiful and the environments are even more beautiful. The whole game looks like an impressionist painting, albeit one painted by pretty near-sighted artist.

The Legend of Zelda series is one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, if not arguably *thee* greatest. With each release, Nintendo has showed us the magic of journeying through Hyrule's beautiful kingdom. Now, they have done it again, greatly injecting innovation into the tried-and-true formula of past titles. This is a Zelda game unlike any other, and feels all at once both an incredible nostalgic celebration of 25 years of history, and a wholly new adventure full of wild, awesome new directions. Get ready for a fairly long review, but please know that this is written from the heart of a young man who loves the series above most others in his favorite pastime.

The story and characters present in Skyward Sword are very different among the other Zelda titles, despite the obvious recurring ones. I don't just mean the amazing setting of Link's home, Skyloft, a fantastical city floating above the clouds where everone is bonded to their own guardian birdlike creature, a loftwing. No, from the start, Nintendo truly changes almost everything of what you'd come to expect from a Zelda game. This is the earliest tale in the series chronologically, acting as a prequel, making way for Ocarina of Time's tale to come. Zelda is not a princess here, just another common schoolgirl. She and Link have been best friends since childhood, and may even have feelings for each other (it's pretty obvious, and incredibly touching. My wife and I were both pretty moved by it). In Skyloft, the local school is essentially a knights academy, the uniform being a tunic that is easily recognizable to fans of the series. After completing a ceremony to become a senior in his class (the senior tunic is, you guessed it, dark green), Zelda and Link ride together through the sky to celebrate. Out of nowhere, a malevolent tornado knocks Zelda to "the surface," a vast, unexplored land below the cloud cover and once again, Link takes up the mantle of being a fated hero, destined to save the day. I'll stop here, because this is virtually spoiler free and if I say more it won't be. Just know that Nintendo has really changed up the formula of story and characters we've come to expect from the Zelda franchise, and as a result, Skyward Sword feels incredibly refreshing.

Another immediately noticeable change is in presentation. The story is much, much more cinematic than Zelda has ever been. Cinematic shot angles are much more dynamic than ever before, character expression is stunning, animation is smooth and realistic, and the writing is just fantastic. If anything, this feels like a very intimate entry in the Zelda series, not just epic or grand like past titles. It's a lovely direction for the Zelda series, if you ask me. The characters all come to life thanks to this presentation, of course, but the writing present certainly helps too. Each character has so much personality, and talking to each of them is a joy. Link is a somewhat distracted dreamer with his head in the clouds, loves to sleep, but has tons of courage and kindness, a true hero. Accompanying him in his journey is Fi, a new kind of companion to the series. Fi looks like a ceramic doll, her "speech" sounds like GLaDOS, and is purely logic driven. She is amazing. Zelda is a strong-willed, tough tomboy of sorts, and very lovable. Lord Ghirahim, the new villain, is *extremely* compelling and creepy (Ganandorf makes no direct appearance). All of these characters, as well as the plethora of side characters, are written and presented beautifully.

The art design and graphical implementation is awesome here. The game has married the art design of two past masterpiece Zelda title styles into one wholly unique direction. You have more realistic people and settings, like in the dark, mature Twilight Princess, but you also have the vibrant color and imagination of The Wind Waker, and it is a joy to behold. Nintendo EAD designed the game to look like a water color painting, and I must say, they did a fantastic job doing so. Draw distances are fairly short, and anything beyond is purposely blurred to look exactly like a water-color painting of the impressionist style, full of brushstrokes of beautiful color. I am deeply impressed here. The Wii is a painfully underpowered system in comparison to its two competitors, but it is genius art design like this that shows why the Wii has had some of the most beautiful titles of this generation (Metroid Prime 3, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Okami, now this game, the list goes on and on). To put it succinctly, Skyward Sword is one of the most beautiful games in recent memory, and that is totally thanks to the absolutely brilliant (and well implemented) art design.

Koji Kondo and Hajime Wakai; any fan of Nintendo will instantly recognize these names as two of the greatest musical composers of video gaming. They are almost unrivaled as composers, writing some of the most iconic music in the entire medium. Koji worked as musical supervisor in this title (as well as composed the main theme and some other songs). Hajime was in charge of music composition. This may be, and I *do not* say this lightly, some of their very best work yet. The music here ranges from the entire spectrum of musical emotion: epic, intimate, touching, sad, meditative, dark, joyous, achingly beautiful, uplifting, goofy/doofy (for a certain character), anything you can imagine. Each theme, whether for an event, a character, a place, whatever, is absolutely perfect for its place and can greatly change depending on the situation. It takes something special for music to not only define the experience for any gamer playing the game, but also convey the emotion and thought its supposed to, and the soundtrack here does so perfectly. Like most Zelda games, Link acquires a musical instrument that helps progress the story (Ocarina of time had... well... duh. Wind Waker had a baton), here it is a harp. You can play it at any time, and when you do, you can actually accompany the beautiful background music of wherever you happen to be on the harp. That's very, very cool. Great job Koji and Hajime! You're amazing.

The gameplay is what you're probably the most curious about. Does the Wii-Motion Plus work? Yes, it does very well, for the most part. You'll have to deal with calibration from time to time, sometimes actions won't register the way you hoped, but it's not too big a deal and doesn't happen nearly enough to mar the experience. The 1:1 swordplay works pretty flawlessly once you become acquainted with it. Link will seamlessly swing his sword however you do. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, it all works quite well. Pretty much every enemy you will encounter will require a different strategy to defeat, and I have found that the swordplay grows more enthralling with each hour I play (Boss fights are outstanding). It took me quite a while to get used to it, but I must say that this is truly the game the Wii was made nearly six years ago for. It's about time. The quest items you'll find are also a blast to use. They give you some new ones right off the bat, and they're all awesome, feeling completely new yet appropriate for the franchise. Also, Link now has stamina that runs out as he climbs and dashes throughout the world (yes, Link can now sprint around if you'd like). Link's stamina actually adds a small layer of strategic depth to the game, and the concept comes into play in many scenarios throughout the game. This gameplay concept worried me at first, but it's actually really enjoyable, and implemented excellently.

There have been several major shake-ups to the usual Zelda expectations we all had up to this point. Gone is the field-dungeon-field formula of past titles. Instead, here you have a hub world, the realm above the clouds, with Skyloft as your main town to visit. Here you can restock supplies, buy or upgrade your shield and other equipment using items you've scavenged in your questing rpg-style, and go on very personal side quests that feel very much like Majora's Mask did, making for a character-driven experience. A great change of formula, one I was *very* skeptical about beforehand.

You can ride your loftwing and drop to the surface world below at key rifts in the clouds. Here, you have more concentrated lands you can adventure through until you get to a dungeon/temple that will advance the story. The world below, and its temples, feel quite a lot like the Metroid series, and the Metroid Prime Trilogy in particular. The land is more condensed and concentrated, feeling like dungeon of sorts by themselves, but as you acquire newer items, more and more dimensions will open up in those places as you revisit them. It's a huge change-up to the Zelda formula, but one that feels surprisingly good. Having now beaten the game and played through all temples so far, I am amazed at the ingenuity of them (especially Ancient Cistern, one of the greatest dungeon/temples of any Zelda game from the past 25 years, no joke). Yes, you'll be pushing blocks and shooting targets to open doors, but you'll also encounter brilliant new puzzles. I mean, the puzzles are challenging and downright laugh-inducing in their ingenuity, and feel very satisfying when you figure then out. Combine this with the totally awesome new items, stellar swordplay, and ease of use and you get the feeling that every area feels like an innovation, in much the same way playing through Super Mario Galaxy 2 felt like standing before a firing squad of brilliant new ideas. I am downright astonished. I did not think it could be done, honestly, but this game really has reinvigorated the series through great change to the formula rather than refining it further like Twilight Princess did, and trust me when I say no one is more surprised than me.

This is a brilliant game, even among the other entries in what has been for 25 years a brilliant series. It takes Zelda in a plethora of new directions, while miraculously feeling *exactly* like a true-to-form Zelda game. Color me surprised. If you're a fan of Zelda, then you don't need me to tell you to go get this right now. This series has some of the most diehard fans of any gaming franchise out there, but just for emphasis' sake, I proudly, and loudly proclaim that this game is incredible! Buy it, soar through the realms above, and dive to the vast, mysterious lands below and fulfill your destiny to save the world once again!

* I know this review is quite long, but honestly, this game has so much that merits attention, the review could be much, much longer and still be appropriate. I will edit my review as I play through the game more if I feel there is something worth mentioning that I come across. However, I feel that this is a pretty good summary that hopefully gives you a good picture of the game. Seriously, go get it, like, right now. You won't regret it.

- Update after beating the game:

After playing the game for roughly 50 hours I finally beat Skyward Sword. In short, this game is an absolute masterpiece. Each and every hour spent in this game was filled to the brim with brilliance and excellence, and not one single minute felt like boring filler that artificially extended the game. This feels like the Super Mario Galaxy 2 of Zelda titles, where there seems to be an exciting new gameplay/puzzle element at every turn. The story is incredible, with a lot of twists that genuinely thrilled and surprised me. This game essentially acts as an origin story for the entire Zelda series. Pretty much every element that you're familiar with from Zelda games see their true origin here, and it is spectacular (I won't give any spoilers though, you'll be blown away when you experience it for yourself). I have to say that I have not been this entranced and enthralled by a Zelda game since Ocarina of Time and I am a HUGE fan of pretty much every entry in the entire Zelda series, so I don't say that lightly. The music is among the series' very best, which by itself is a massive accomplishment. The graphics and particularly the art design are incredibly beautiful, some of the most gorgeous and brilliantly inspired of the past decade, despite the underpowered system it is on. Because of all of this, I was compelled to play this constantly until beating it, AND there's a new game plus mode that adds substantially to the game as well! For fans of the series, this game is an immediate must-own. I give it the highest recommendation possible. I absolutely love this game, and I'm fairly certain most of you out there will too.

*That's my final statement. This is meant to finalize the points I made from my original review, which I think will be as detailed and informative as anyone would want or need. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Good day. :)

- I wondered when the supply of first-edition copies of this game, which came with a special bonus musical CD, would run out and Nintendo would start reproduction of this masterpiece without the bonus disc. It appears now is that time. I wrote a very detailed review of the game when it first came out. It's one of the reviews I'm most proud of, and I stand by my assessment. This game is just as good now as it was when it released about six months ago, and is just one of those magical games that must be played, as Zelda games tend to be. Having had months to think about the game since completing it for the first time, what really stands out to me about it is the spectacular art design and execution of said artistic concepts, the absolutely beautiful and moving soundtrack that I think is some of Kondo and Wakai's best work, the exceptional story and the way it is told, the very unique and enjoyable temple/level design, and finally the unique gameplay and control mechanics. It's a very moving experience when all combined together. Also, may I just say that Ancient Cistern may be, in every way imaginable, one of the very best temples/dungeons in Zelda's rich 25 year history. Seriously, it's fantastic, but in all honesty, the entire game is so incredibly memorable and endearing. So enjoy this review, and have a good day. :D

This game is a masterpiece.I got this game last year for Christmas and I do not regret getting it.This game has fantastic characters like the newly designed Zelda who has a great personality and you feel some incentive to save her, the wacky and hilarious Groose, and the flamboyant villain Ghirahim who is my favorite Zelda antagonist. This game looks like a watercolor painting it is a beautiful looking game.The music is great and is well orchestrated, My favorite being the boss theme and Fi's theme. The controls are great, especially aiming the bow and swinging the sword. You do need to reconnect the controller a lot though, but still great controls. The game-play is awesome but it gets repetitive sometimes. The story is great with great plot twist and humor. Side quest are great but it needs more of them and needs to make them longer. The boss-rush mode is great and challenging, and the hero mode is welcomed with it's difficulty and new content. The bosses are challenging, and the dungeons have great designs and good puzzles. The difficulty is balanced too, which I like very much.

RatingsStory: 9.5/10Controls:9.25/10Presentation (Graphics, music, characters): 10/10Difficulty:10/10Replay ability:9.5/10Gameplay: 9.75/10Overall (not an average): This game has about 125 hours of game-play(if you include Hero mode) and it is worth the $30 to $50. In my opinion this is not only my favorite Wii game and Zelda game but my favorite game of all-time. There is so much more I can talk about this game but it would take way to long. Buy this game it is worth the time and money, and I think a lot of people will like it. This game gets a 10/10. Thank you for reading

Oh. My. GoodnessI've been playing video games all of my life, ever since 2000, but I just recently, and by that I mean since October 2013, got into the Zelda franchise. I've heard so many things from so many people about how awesome the games are, which left me curious.So first, I played Wind Waker, which I thought was a really great game, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it had it's share of problems that kept it from being something truly amazing, but it was still very fun to play overall.Next, there was Twilight Princess, a game that was just ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, and I LOVE IT TO DEATH! It did everything right in improving upon what worked for me in Wind Waker, as well as addressing the problems I had.Then came A Link to the Past, which I think is truly a GEM to behold, an amazing game to play and I can definitely see why so many people absolutely love it. I personally thought it was better than Wind Waker, but still not as great as Twilight Princess.

So there I was, thinking that it couldn't possibly get any better than The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess...And then, I played this game. <3 <3 <3 :')The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, is just... beautiful! Everything from the great looking graphics, great music, incredible gameplay, well designed dungeons, and just the overall adventure & THE ATMOSPHERE of the adventure was just something out of this world! The last time I felt this strongly about a game, was the first time I played Super Mario Galaxy!So what made this game such a wonderful joy for me, well.

Positives:-Outstanding presentation - The graphics look great for Wii standards, the character models also look great, animations look smooth and well designed. The story, while the same as every other usual Zelda gig, which is (Zelda is kidnapped, bad guy want's to destroy everything, go stop and save), is more meaningful this time around, because unlike the other Zelda incarnations, I actually care about this one. And finally, my favorite Link & Zelda incarnations. The principle of Link as a character is to represent the Link between you and the character, and out of the 4 Zelda games I've played, Skyward Sword has done the best job of that. I can relate PERFECTLY to this Link & I feel the same things he feels & go through the same expressions, when Zelda sealed herself in the crystal & Link and deeply saddened, so was I. I actually feel a strong bond & connection with not only Link, but Zelda as well, especially her. Throughout the intro, and hearing/listening to the things she told me, really made me develop a special bond with her, like the character himself does. So as a result, in the main journey, I want to do EVERYTHING in my power to help her. I always have one goal: HELP ZELDA!-Incredible gameplay-The 3D Zelda formula was already an awesome formula as it was, but I still had just one problem from Wind Waker & Twilight Princess, Link's overall speed. Link WAS NO Sonic the Hedgehog when it comes to speed, he moved like a tank & I constantly found myself rolling all over the place just to pick up the pace. Skyward Sword fixes that! How, a little thing called a dash button! Holding down A will enable Link to pick up the pace & run much faster, making his overall mobility MILES better than what it was before, he can also climb up vines and ladders faster as well be shaking the Wii remote in the corresponding direction. Now that I'm on the topic of the Wii remote, this game requires the Wii+MotionPlus in order play, no MotionPlus=no Skyward Sword, SO GET A MOTIONPLUS! Haha, kidding. But thanks to the MotionPlus, you have much more control of Link's sword then before, as well as all of the other items in his inventory, and his sword strikes are much faster than they were in the last 2 games, making the combat and swordplay overall move much quicker.Thus, making the one issue I had with the gameplay of the previous 2 3D Zelda games, a thing of the past!That was the overall pacing, it was too slow for my taste in Wind Waker & Twilight Princess, but thanks to Skyward Sword.. This is Perfect!Level/Dungeon Design:What you play a Zelda game for!Exploring the many levels and dungeons within the game to discover the items and have them aid you on your quest.I obviously thoroughly enjoyed it very much, as I've stated before in the first 3 games I played before this one.But there were a few dungeons in the previous game that I didn't take too much of a liking towards, now A Link to the Past didn't have that problem, Wind Waker & even Twilight Princess on the other hand, did.For Wind Waker, their was the Forbidden Woods & the Air Temple, I thought the aesthetics of those temples were just bleak and uninteresting & they turned me off while I was playing through them, while the other dungeons made up for it. This goes back to one of the reasons why I say Wind Waker was simply just great and not GREAT, like Twilight Princess. But even Twilight Princess had that issue, Lakebed Temple and City in the Sky, 2 dungeons, that I swear just DRAGGED, I spent as much as an hour maybe even longer on those 2 temples each. While I didn't mind it too much, I just kept thinking to myself, "Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet?" I just wanted to move on to the next dungeon by the time I got the boss keys.Now back to Skyward Sword, those 2 seperate issues I had with those two games, are nowhere to be seen here. Like I said, the graphics look great for the Wii, and there was never a point where I thought the graphics look underwhelming, or that I thought the temples were taking to long. There was never a point in Skyward Sword where I felt the game dragged, that pacing stated consistent and I found a lot of enjoyment out of exploring the dungeons. Now that may have to do with the dungeons being smaller than they were in Twilight Princess, but there's a catch, here, it isn't necessarily so much as the dungeon itself where the fun & challenge lies in previous titles, but there's more emphasis on getting to the that dungeon where the fun is to be had. So it balances out evenly and like I said, the pacing stays consistent!-Atmosphere, this game just DREW ME IN, from the minute it started, I was always on the edge of my seat, anticipating the next challenge, and what came next. Whether it was seriousness from encountering Ghirahim, or joy in seeing Zelda, horror in watching her soul being swallowed by Demise, or triumph in defeating Demise, saving Zelda, and the world, this game kept me EXTREMELY ENTERTAINED from beginning to end. And I think that the ending of Skyward Sword, where Link & Zelda stand on top of the Goddess' statue, where Zelda tells Link that she wants to stay on the surface & asks him what he wants to do, then it screen cuts out where they are seen to be holding hands on the statue and then the camera zooms to the sky as their Loftwings fly away, applying that Link chose to stay with Zelda as the ABSOLUTLY HEART-MELTING music plays in the background...(DEEP BREATH)... This ending, is. without a doubt. the best ending I have ever seen to a video game ever. It absolutely brought me to TEARS! I can not stress enough just how absolutely wonderful, amazing, and smile-enducing this game is!If you have a Wii, you know all about the Zelda franchise, but have never played Skyward Sword, THAN WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!! It does EVERYTHING right in improving upon what worked with it's predecessors and fixing the issues from before, as well as distinguishing itself from the rest of the games in the franchise to provide an entirely different experience altogether.With that said, not only is this the best Zelda game I've played & my favorite Zelda game.It is my favorite video game I have every played, PERIOD!Do yourself a favor right now, if you have a Wii, PLAY THIS GAME!BUY IT OFF AMAZON, GET IT AT GAMESTOP, BORROW A COPY FROM A FRIEND, I DON'T CARE HOW YOU GET IT & PLAY IT! JUST PLAY IT!!!!

So my final score is: (And I'll give the scores of the other Zelda games I've played while I'm at it.The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD - 8.5/10The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 9.5/10The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - 9/10And the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - A PERFECT TEN OUT OF TEN!!!This game. Is. Simply... Beautiful! <3 :')

This is a beautiful game, full of intelligent action and interesting puzzles. My middle school daughter spent half the summer playing it through... and then immediately turned around to play it again. As a parent, I felt like my child developed more grit and persistence and also did some good reading playing this game. As a gamer, I was deeply jealous that she had a whole summer to devote to it and I had to go to work. The graphics are beautiful, the action is challenging, the story deep and rich.

1. History: this title is explained as arising evil and zelda legend behind. All other titles make sense when you understand that zelda and link will always be together to protect the Triforce and prevent evil from taking over her. You'll also find details in this game that are related to future titles and characters of the future.

2. Design and Visual Art: This game is a mix of wind waker and art Rococco. This title provides an immersive and beautiful visual style. With pleasing to the eye and harmonious landscapes designed to delight the senses acclimated for music colors. Of course when it's dark, worlds completely changed and you can enjoy a dark, dark environment.

3. Gameplay: The game is made to make you feel truly like to be a warrior, as all equipment purchased are handled with the wiimote creatively wrapping in the game. The swordplay becomes more real and really feel you are fighting a boss more than just pressing the button A. There are many times when you can open doors, turn locks, outsmart enemies and more.

4. Dungeons without main entrance: In previous games, the entrances to dungeons marked the line of action. The events happened only after passing through a closed door or giant cave, with little or no access to any exterior.Pero in this game, the dungeons are part of the environment and to reach them, you must go through some challenges. Sometimes neither you found out you had already begun to have a dungeon.

5. intellectual Challenges: No other Zelda game has challenged my intellect more than this. The mazes are now harder and really should analyze and solve puzzles. The setting is now part of the challenge and must observe well every corner to find a way forward.

6. Most Difficult Bosses: all enemies and bosses temples, including small creatures, have received military training to spite your existence. 90% of the enemies are defending your attacks and know how to calculate your movements of the sword. Enough of random attacks! Now you should think about your moves and battle strategies for overcoming think

7. Flexible Inventory: In recent Zelda titles as "between worlds" now use inventory is flexible. You can play with the combinations and store in Skyloft things that do not need at the moment. Ou can also decide if you improve the strength of your tools and weapons, the shield now also used as offensive. Even to the potions are more effective if you add two or three beetles recipe!

8. rupees and fairies are more important than ever in previous games you could find in shrines with glittering fairy lights and catch as many bottles as you had. The rupee could reach $ 999 just for greed and you kept without any significant future use. But now in this game and get everything costs money is not easy. Fairies have not yet evolved, because they only fill up to 6 hearts, and only a few were hiding there somewhere and hopefully the truth at the same site. You will see in situations where you will begin to cut grass and be a gardener to find a few rupees. Even you will run before losing a Green Rupee!

9. Animations movie: Every game scene is accompanied by well-drawn animations that will make you think you're in a movie theater. The trap camera angles capture the emotions and moments of drama to provide an unforgettable experience.

10. Original and more human characters: Many of the characters in the game have a special design. Link of course remains as to graphic line dress is concerned, but all other characters including zelda, tercearios characters, among others, have original designs that complement the time. Something that I love is that the people in the game have personality and even routine lives. You can visit them and help them in their day to day where you really relationship problems and characters that actually feel emotions like loneliness, fear, sadness and joy.

No doubt there are even more reasons to buy this game. It is a title that really loved and even though there are two or three details that did not like me, are not so important as to overshadow the greatness of this title.

To better understand the story, I recommend buying "The Leyend of Zelda: History" book. Which celebrates the 25th anniversary of this game, which tells the story of all the games released so far.

I'm a huge Zelda fan, you won't be disappointed with this game. It has an amazing story and the motion controls are unique and fun. This game does have a new sense of difficulty that makes each victory feel more real. Overall this game is awesome and if you're a Zelda fan you need to play this game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is newest game in the long-running, celebrated Zelda series and also one of the best. New to Zelda games? This is the perfect place to start, as it is the first game in the Zelda timeline. Zelda fan? You probably own the game already!

Skyward Sword is a game starring a teen named Link who lives in Skyloft, an island floating above the clouds. All is well in Skyloft until one day, a giant tornado stirs up Link's best friend Zelda. Link then meets a mysterious spirit Fi who tells Link to explore the world below the clouds, the Surface, to find Zelda and aide her. While this is happening, Link conquers dungeons, discovers new items, vanquishes menacing bosses, explores three diverse lands (a forest, volcano, and desert), and unravels an ancient legend regarding the his and Zelda's fates.

Pros:

-Controls: the motion controls may take a few hours to master, but the result is the most rewarding, exciting combat in any Zelda game to date. The Wii Motion Plus is utilized to its fullest, allowing for a full range of motion that allows for awesome and natural feeling swordplay, bomb rolling, archery, and shielding. After playing Skyward Sword, I did NOT want to go back to button controls. In addition, Link can finally jump on command and run now. Yay!

-Story: no spoilers here, but Skyward Sword's story is EPIC and just about everything you could want from a prequel. It explains the origins of the Master Sword, the Triforce, Ganon, and Hyrule, and also explains why Zelda is so important (and why we've been rescuing her for all these years). You will laugh and you will cry in this emotional roller-coaster of a game, with the hands-down best cutscenes we've ever seen in a Zelda game and excellent writing.

-Characters: one of my favorite cast of characters in a Zelda game, only rivaled by Majora's Mask. Zelda is cute and believable, your bully Groose is the most amusing Zelda character ever created, your guide Fi is calculating and robotic, Impa is awesome and heroic, and the villain Ghirahim is creepy, flamboyant, and unconventional.

-World/dungeon design: Skyward Sword's worlds and dungeons are smaller and more dense than those of its 3D predecessor, Twilight Princess. There is less time meandering through empty fields and being lost and more time solving puzzles, defeating enemies, and collecting items. In addition, content that normally only appears in dungeons in previous Zelda games now appear in the overworld too. Though some level of exploration was sacrificed to achieve this, the end result is a more focused, streamlined, and enjoyable experience.

-Artstyle: inspired by Impressionist art, Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Skyward Sword to have a style that would leave a lasting impact on its viewers. The result is a vibrant, colorful, and gorgeous world that even looks artsy at times. The visuals of the game are best described as a painting come alive.

-Music: the first Zelda game to use fully orchestrated music, Skyward Sword never ceases to amaze in the sound category. The Ballad of the Goddess, Fi's Theme, and the Skyloft theme are some of the best tunes in the series!

-Length: Skyward Sword is a long, long game. It took me 70 hours to complete everything in my first file, and another 30 for Hero Mode, a more challenging mode which can be unlocked by beating the game. You can expect to get your bang for your buck with this game.

Cons:

-Filler material: You will very occasionally run into some boring quests you need to do to proceed. Luckily, none of these are very long or frustrating, with the longest fetch quest taking about 20 minutes.

-Minor annoyances: Sometimes Fi can get annoying when she asks you to change your batteries or fill up your hearts. It also gets annoying that the game displays each treasure item going into the inventory when you pick new ones up.

-No voice acting: I would have liked to hear voices on my favorite Skyward Sword characters; some seasoned Zelda fans prefer to imagine the voices themselves, so optional voice acting like in Kid Icarus: Uprising would have been a win-win.

Score: 9.7/10

Skyward Sword is an amazing game experience that you don't want to miss out on; if you own a Wii, don't hesitate to get it, and if you don't, here's one more reason to buy one!

EDIT: If possible, get the version that's bundled with the 25th Anniversary Music CD. The CD is awesome.